Machine or apparatus for placing concrete pavements and the like



12, 3945. c, JACKSON 2,396,425

MACHINE R APPARATUS FOR PLACING CONCRETE PAVEMENTS AND THE LIKE FiledJuly 5, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l ZZZ Z- INVENTOR. CJfi/WLL 03467601 1 ATTORNEYS.V H

March 12, 1946. JACKS N 2,396,426

MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR PLACING CONCRETE PAVEMENTS AND THE LIKE FiledJuly 5, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 2 J2 i ll 51 -3 14 41 60 3*}: 40 I u h h QINVENTOR.

CO/F/Mj c/flZKfiO/Y arch 12, 1946?6 c. JACKSON- 9 3 MACHINE 0R APPARATUSFOR PLACING CONCRETE PAVEMENTS AND THE LIKE Filed July 5, 1941 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

. ATTORNEKE.

Patented Mar. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE OR APPARATUSFOR PLACING CONCRETE PAVEMENTS AND THE LIKE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machine or apparatus forplacing concrete pavements and the like.

The main objects of this invention are:

First, to provide an improved machine or apparatus for the placement ofconcret slabs such as pavements and the like which is highly efficientand results in a pavement of very uniform structure and qualitythroughout.

Second, to provide a machine or apparatus of this character whichminimizes manual labor and is of large capacity and produces a highquality pavement or slab.

Third, to provide a machine or apparatus having these characteristicswhich is highly suitable for the placement of concrete mixes commonlydesignated as harsh mixes or mixes having substantially no slump" watercontent.

Fourth, to provide a method of placing concrete of low water contentwhich may be practiced very economically and which results in a highlydesirable and well-finished concrete pavement or slab.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appearfrom the description to follow. The invention is defined in the claims.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view partially in longitudinal section on linel-| of Fig. 2 of a concrete placing or paving machine embodying thefeatures of my invention, the machine being illus trated as in use inlaying a sub or foundation slab.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, the side forms which constitute rails forthe machine being shown in vertical section, parts only of the machinebeing illustrated.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section corresponding to that of Fig. 1illustrating the parts in another adjustment thereof and as laying asurface layer or concrete upon the foundation layer.

Fig. 4 is a view partially in longitudinal section of a modified form orembodiment of my invention, certain of the parts being shownconventionally.

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section of another form or embodimentof my invention, the parts being shown conventionally.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the spreader of the embodiment ofmy invention shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of still another embodiment of my inventionin longitudinal section on line l| of Fig. 8, parts being shownconventionally.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary transverse section on the broken line 8-8 ofFig. 7.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, I, I represent the sideforms for the concrete to be placed,these constituting rails or tracks for the paving machine carriagedesignated generally by the numeral 2. This carriage is provided withwheels 3, certain of which are traction wheels, the engine and drivingconnections to the'driving Wheels not being illustrated.

The screed 4 is supported to be advanced with the carriage andpreferably for reciprocating movement transversely of the path offorward travel, the means for reciprocating being indicated at 5 driventhrough suitable transmission means designated generally by the numeral6. The screed, in this preferred embodiment, is provided with avibrating means comprising the motor designated by the numeral I, therotor 8 of which is provided with an unbalancing weight 9 indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 1.

I provide an auxiliary carriage including the side members H) which arepivoted at H on the main carriage and the cross member l2 which is inthe form of a tube of substantial dimensions adjustably secured to themembers Ill by the brackets l3. This auxiliary carriage is provided withcarrying wheels l4 adapted to travel on the forms I and provided withsupports l5 pivoted at IS on the plate-like hangers I 1 which dependfrom the transverse member [2, see Figs. 1 and 2. These wheel supportmembers are adjustable on their pivots for raising and lowering thefront ends of the side members [0 of the auxiliary carriage andconsequently the transverse member !2 and all the parts carried thereby.This adjusting means is designated generally by the numeral 18. As thedetails of this adjusting means form no part of this invention they arenot further illustrated or described.

I provide a spreader for the concrete material to be placed indicated atH! in the drawings. This spreader, in the preferred embodiment, is inthe form of a spiral blade Or worm 28 which is disposed horizontally andtransversely of the path of forward travel of the machine. This spreaderis provided with a shaft 2| journalecl in the shaft hangers 22 at thouter ends of the frame member l2. At each end, the shaft 2! is providedwith a sprocket wheel 23 which sprocket wheels are connected with thesprocket chains 24 to the sprocket wheels 25 on the shaft 26 whichconstitutes the pivot axis for the end members I so that the raising andlowering of these members does not affect the drive.

The shaft 26 is connected to the driving sprocket 21 driven by thetransmission mechanism indicated at B, the sprocket 21 being connectedby the sprocket 28 to a sprocket 29 on the shaft. The transmissionincludes reversing means controlled by the lever 30 so that thedirection of rotation of the spreader may be manually changed as may benecessary to effect the proper spreading of the concrete material acrossthe paving slab or between the forms.

The plate-like hanger members I! constitute end members for supportingthe concrete at the ends of the spreader and it will be noted that theydepend somewhat within the forms, see Fig. 2.

The machine is especially designed for the spreading of harsh concretemixtures commonly consisting of aggregates, fines, cement, and water,the water content being so low that the mixture is commonly designatedas unworkable. Broadly considered, my present machine is adapted topractice the method of my Patent 1,787,449, issued January 6, 1931.

At the rear of the spreader and in such relation thereto as torearwardly support a substantial mass of the concrete being placed is acombined vibratory member and strike-off 3|. This member is supportedfrom the end plates by means of yielding supports 32, 33, so that themember may vibrate freely without substantially imparting vibration tothe hangers I1 and through them to the frame. Also, the support is suchas to effectively advance the vibratory member against a substantialmass of concrete while permitting free vibratory movement thereof athigh frequency.

The member 3| is preferably vibrated by means of a vibratory motor 34having a rotor 35 provided with an unbalancing weight 36, the vibratingmeans, in this embodiment, being the same as that provided for thescreed. The axis of the rotor is disposed in parallel relation to thevibratory member. The Vibratory member is disposed at the rear of thespreader and in such relation thereto as to vibrate the material whileit is acted upon by the spreader, this vibrating of the materialchanging the character or condition of the concrete mixture from theharsh no-slump condition to a fluid or semi-fluid workable conditionwhich enables its being effectively spread by the spreader and uniformlydistributed between the forms without manual labor. The concrete mixturemay be dumped between the forms in suitable quantities and the machineadvanced thereto, with the vibratory member under vibration, thespreader being driven in the required direction to properly distributethe material and reversed as may be required. I have mentioned highfrequency vibration-in the neighborhood of 3600 R. P. M. beingsatisfactory.

When the machine is operating in the placement of a pavement havingreinforcing material such as indicated at 31 incorporated therein, thefoundation slab or bed portion 38 of the pavement is laid as indicatedin Figs. 1 and 3, the screed 4 not being employed during this step. Thevibratory member 31, however, acts as an efficient strike-off so thatthe foundation 38 is ready to receive the reinforce. The surfacing layeris then applied with the spreader and its coacting vibratory member inoperation, the screed being positioned to act upon and finish thematerial discharged from the spreader and vibratory member. The screedis positioned so that it acts upon such material while it is in a fluidor semifiuid condition, the fluid or semi-fluid condition being inducedby the action of the vibratory member. This is found to result in ahighly satisfactory pavement with a desirable finish.

The screed in the preferred embodiment is of the transversereciprocating type as this serves to effectively smooth and trowel thesurface as well as to further compact the concrete. By associating thespreader and vibratory member so that the spreader acts upon thevibrated material, they coact both to secure an effective and uniformspreading with a minimum of power output and also this combined workingof the material is highly effective in eliminating voids and consequentcompacting of the material. However, it is in a fluid or semifiuidcondition when acted upon by the screed so that a highly satisfactorysurface results.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 4, the screed isomitted, the carriage 40 bein designed to carry the combined spreaderand strike-off unit. The carriage is powered by an engine conventionallyshown at 4| and the spreader 42 is of the spiral blade type disposed infront of and operatively associated with the strike-off 43 supported onhanger members 44, which hanger members are carried by the verticalscrew shafts 45 having threaded engagement at 46 with the member 44 andsupported in vertical bearings 41. At their upper ends, these screws areprovided with beveled gears 48 meshing with gears 49 connected tosprockets 50, the sprockets being connected with the sprocket chain 5|.A driving crank 52 is provided. The sprockets and gears on opposite endsof the machine are carried by shafts 53. The combined spreading andstrike-off unit may be adjusted for laying the foundation layer 38 orelevated to lay the surface layer to be followed by proper screeding andfinishing.

In the embodiment of 'my invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the spreaderis in the form of a winged member 54 which is provided with a carriage55 having grooved wheels 56 engaging the ways or rails 51. This spreader54 is adapted to reciprocate back and forth and it is designed to bereversely driven so as to move the material in the desired direction. Itis driven from the sprocket chain 58, the ends of which are connected tothe carriage, it being passed around the sprocket wheels 59 on the frame60 which frame is carried by the vertical screws El threadingly engagingthe member 62 on the frame and supported by the bearings 63 on the mainframe members 64 of the carria e 65. These screws are connected bysprocket chains 66 and suitable sprockets, one of the screws beingprovided with a hand wheel 61. One of the sprockets 59 is driven throughthe driven beveled gear 68 and its coacting beveled driving pinion 69driven from the flexible shaft 10.- Means are provided for reversing thedrive and as these will be understood, they are not illustrated.

The vibratory member "H is supported substantially the same as I havedescribed, this vibratory member being provided at th bottom thereof onits front edge with a tubular nose piece 12 which reinforced andprovides a reinforcing and wear member for the vibratory member.

Both embodiments shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are provided with vibratingmotors 7. In this structure, the vibrating and spreading assembly issupported by the thrust bracket 14 having a thrust roller on the lowerend thereof, this taking much of the strain and operation off thesuspending screws 6 I.

In the embodiment of m invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the screed I6is substantially that of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 andneeds no further description. In this embodiment, however, the carriageframe 11 extends forwardly beyond the screed to support the spreader andthe vibratory elements supported therewith. In this embodiment, thespreader i8 is of the spiral type, its driving connection beingindicated at 19. It will be understood that this is also a reversibledriving connection. Associated with the spreader in the same generalrelation as in the previously described figures is a vibrator member 80preferably in the form of a wooden plank or plate of suitable length andwidth to support the material treated in the same relation to thespreader as has been described. This member 88 is provided with an angleiron reinforcing and wear plate 8!. On the rear side thereof is mountedthe vibrating means illustrated in the form of a vibrating motor 34. Themember 8| is supported by the flexible hanger straps 82 from the bellcrank levers 83 which are mounted on the rocksh-aft 84 extending acrossthe frame.

At the rear of the vibratory member I provide depending thrust abutments85 which coact with the resilient buffers or thrust members 86 on therear side of the vibratory member. In front of the vibratory member Iprovide depending abutments 8! which coact with the resilient thrustmember 86 so that the vibratory member is held in upright position andis advanced in proper relation to the spreader and at the same time issupported for free vibratory movement.

In this embodiment, the vibratory member may be raised and loweredindependently of the spreader and the screed, one of the levers 83 beingprovided with a nut 88 which is engaged by the screw 89 having a handwheel 90 so that manual adjustment to the desired position is possible.

In all of these embodiments, the vibratory member and spreader coact toeffectivel spread and strike off the material. When the screed is inoperation the material is struck off and is rendered fluid or semi-fluidso that the screed may act most effectively in producing a smooth andhighly satisfactory paving or concrete slab. The machine is of verylarge capacity and performs the work of a number of men commonlyrequired where the concrete material is spread between the forms bymanual labor which labor is very arduous owing to the character of thematerial, and this is the case even where great care is exercised indumping or discharging the material from the mixer or dumping trucks asthe case the fact that the voids are Very effectively worked even from aharsh mixture or a mixture having substantially no-slump water content,and the material is delivered to the finishing screed in a highlyworkable state for screeding and surface finishing so that the severalsteps may be successfully performed in succession,

I have illustrated and described m invention in certain embodimentsthereof which I believe will enable those skilled in the art to embodymy invention as may be desired and also I have illustrated apparatus forthe practicing of my method which I believe will enable those skilled inthe art to practice my method by other suitable means.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a carriage, ascreed adapted for ad vancement with the carriage, a manually controlledreversibly driven spiral spreader for the material to be placed disposedhorizontally and transversely of the path of forward travel and inadvance of said screed for advancement therewith, a plate-like combinedvibratory member and strike-off disposed at the rear of said spread erfor advancement therewith and adapted to support a substantial mass ofmaterial in such relation to the spreader as to vibrate the material andrender it fluid or semi-fluid while it is being acted upon by thespreader thereby facilitating the spreading and placement thereof, meansfor vibrating said vibratory member at high frequency mounted thereon,flexible hangers for said vibratory member, bell crank levers forsupportin said flexible hangers, means for adjusting said bell cranklevers whereby said vibratory member is vertically adjusted relative tothe screed and to said spreader, front and rear thrust abutmentsbination of a carriage, a spreader for the material to be placed, avibratory member disposed at the rear of said spreader for advancementtherewith and adapted to support a substantial mass of material in suchrelation to the spreader as to vibrate the material and render it fluidor semi-fluid while it is being acted upon by the spreader therebyfacilitating 'the spreading and placement thereof, means for vibratingsaid vibratory member at high frequency mounted thereon, flexiblehangers for said vibrator member, means for supporting said flexiblehangers, means for adjusting said hanger supports whereby said vibratorymember is vertically adjusted relative to said spreader, front and rearthrust abutments adjacent the ends of said vibratory member, andcushioning buffers disposed on said vibratory member to coact with saidthrust abutments.

CORWILL JACKSON.

